Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today held wide-ranging talks with her French counterpart Florence Parly in Paris on ways to deepen strategic and defence cooperation between the two countries.

Mrs Sitharaman arrived in the capital city today on a three-day visit to France. The talks were held under the framework of the annual Indo-French defence ministerial dialogue which was agreed to during the summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in March.

Official sources said, the two defence ministers held a one-on-one meeting followed by delegation level talks, covering a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interests.

They said both sides deliberated on co-production of military platforms and weapons by the two countries besides expanding cooperation between their armed forces, particularly in the maritime domain.

Sitharaman’s visit to France came in the backdrop of a huge controversy over the procurement of 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation. PTI quoting officials said, Sitharaman will visit a Rafale manufacturing facility near Paris tomorrow to take stock of progress in their production.